Fakahatchee Full Moon Tours

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A full moon can be seen rising above the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Members of the tour group try to stay warm as they learn about the various plants and wildlife in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell talks about the history as well as the various plants and wildlife in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to a group during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A flock of Ibises perched high above the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve as the tour group approaches during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Dick Brewer helps to guide the tram turnaround in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2014. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF As sunlight starts to become dim, Dick Brewer helps Glen Stacell with a flashlight as they show where the rail roads used to run in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to a group during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2014. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Heide Burkhardt, second from right, holds a bay leaf that can be found in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve up for her husband Bill Burkhardt to smell during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2014. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A full moon can be seen rising above the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell shows a piece of old rail road ties made from cypress that had been left over in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Dick Brewer attempts to summon an owl using a phone app he has in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2014. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell directs the tour group's view toward the tall grass prairie in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A barren tree soaked in sunlight can be seen in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Elliot Light, of Naples, smells a sample of the plant life in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell, left, talks about the history of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve and how the earth evolved to what it is today to a group who are about to begin their moonlight tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Dick Brewer directs the tour group's view toward the tall trees and wildlife in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell, left, talks about prominence and history of limestone in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to a group who are about to begin their moonlight tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF The sun begins to sink below the tree line during a moonlight tram tour through Fakahatchee Strand Preserve on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell, right, and Dick Brewer explain the vastness of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to a group during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell shows the pollen coming off a local plant in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to a group during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF The shadow of the tram lingers on the tall grass of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A flock of Ibises take off from the tall grass of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve as the tour group approaches during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF During a stop in the full moon tram tour, Ruth Turner, of Naples, takes in the surroundings of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A pair of headlights approach the tour group after the sun has set in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell shows the group a coffee plant that can be found in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF A flock of Ibises take off from the tall grass of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve as the tour group approaches during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/STAFF Glen Stacell talks about the history as well as the various plants and wildlife in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve to a group during the first full moon tram tour on Thursday Jan. 17, 2013. The Friends of Fakahatchee Strand are hosting full moon tram tours in January, February and March. The tour focuses on the wild life and plants of the park with insights from the guides. The park is home to more orchid species than any other place on the North American continent.